Gage for seed-planters and clamping means therefor.



PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1908.

D. J. MAHONEY. GAGE FOR SEED PLANTERS AND OLAMPING MEANS THEREFOR.

APPLICATION FILED DBO.31,1907.

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DENIS I. MAHONEY, OF WITOKA, MINNESOTA.

GAG-E FOR SEED-PLANTERS AND CLAMPING MEANS THEREFOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

Application filed December 31, 1907. Serial No. 408,808.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DENIs J. MAHONEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Witoka, in the county of Winona and State ofMinnesota, have made a new and useful Improvement in Gages forSeed-Planters and Clamping Means Therefor, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in gages for seed planters and hasfor its object to provide a gage and means for attaching same toregulate the depth to which the runner or furrow opener shall bepermitted to enter the soil and also regulate the depth at which theseed shall be deposited.

It has for a further object to produce a device which shall be cheap,simple and which can be readily applied to or removed from any of thewheel planters commonly in use without changing the same.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain novelfeatures of construction, arrangement, and combinations of parts as willbe hereinafter fully described and pointed out in the claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view showing my improvement applied. to the runner of aplanter. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device detached. Fig. 3 isa top plan view.

My improved gage comprises two shoes, each consisting of horizontallydisposed plates A, A, the inner edges of which are to rest against theside face of the runner or furrow opener R of the planter. The outeredges of the shoes near their forward end are curved or beveled inwardlyand meet the inner edges in a point, said inner edges lying against thesides of the furrow opener, the forward beveled ends being bent upwardlyat A as plainly shown in Fig. 2. To the up per surface of the shoes areriveted the feet 0 C, of a spring steel arched yoke C, the legs of whichextend upwardly on either side of the runner B. At a suitable. pointholes are drilled through the legs of the arched yoke in which holes isplaced a screw bolt B and on the threaded end of said bolt is placed awinged nut D, by means of which the legs of the arched yoke may be drawntowards each other to clamp tightly the gage on the runner at anydesired height. To remove the gage it is only necessary to loosen thewinged nut D, so the legs of the arched yoke may be forced outwardlyaway from the side faces of the runner. The upturned forward endsprevent the gage shoes from plunging into the earth while the furrow isbeing opened.

It will be clearly seen that my improvement can be quickly and easily aplied to or detached from the runner of any p anter andthat by means ofthe winged nut and the resiliency of the arched yoke the gage can be soset that the depth to which the furrow is to be opened can be regulatedand thus prevent the too deep or too shallow planting of the seed.

By virtue of the resiliency of the arch of the yoke the arms thereoftend to always grip the sides of the runner of the planter with africtional contact, the bolt B and the winged nut D constituting anadditional securing means by virtue of which the runners A are firmlyclamped in any desired place.

By use of my device no change is necessary to the planter runner, as allof the necessary clamping means are entirely independent of the planter.Hence my improvement can be sold as an independent article ofmanufacture to the users of any of the usual types of planters.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture a gage for seed planter furrowopeners comprising a resilient yoke carrying at its lower ends a pair ofhorizontally disposed shoes, adapted to engage frictionally the oppositesides of the furrow opener. v

2. As a new article of manufacture a gage for furrow openers of seederscomprising a yoke consisting of two resilient members normally springingtoward each other, a pair of horizontally disposed shoes at the lowerends of said resilient members, and auxiliary means for causing saidresilient members to approach each other.

3. As a new article of manufacture a gage for furrow openers of seederscomprising an arched yoke member consisting of two resilient oppositelyarranged spring arms connected at their up er ends, horizontallydisposed shoes at the ower ends of said arms, a bolt passing throughsaid arms, and a nut engaging said bolt, whereby the said resilient armsmay be forced toward each other to rigidly clamp the same to the furrowopener of a seeder.

DENIS J. MAHONEY.

Witnesses D. CLINTON DYER, GEORGE E. DYER.

